Truffles

Around this time of the year, I am always on the lookout for recipes for my annual Christmas bake exchange. If the recipe has no added sugar, no egg or flour, then it covers most dietary restrictions in my circle of friends. This recipe I found on a blog called 
"An edible mosaic" is a winner. I used a combination of sunflower and pumpkin seeds simply because I did not have enough of the latter, otherwise made no substitutions It is moist and delicious and can be rolled in cocoa, nuts or seeds to have a variety of different looks with one recipe. Thank you to Faith Gorsky Safarini for this one.This recipe is a keeper; in fact, my blog partner's little guy loved it too, so it's thumb's up from a little person in addition to all the adults who tried it. Enjoy!

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 6 - 8

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 pitted chopped Medjool dates (approx 4 oz)
• 4 Tbsp roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
• 2 T pumpkin puree ( canned is fine, do not use pumpkin pie filling) 
• 1 T cocoa powder
• 1 T ground flax seeds
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 t coconut oil melted
• 1/2 t ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t ground nutmeg
• 1/8 t ground ginger
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch ground cloves

TOPPING IDEAS: 

Desiccated coconut, cocoa powder, sesame seeds, crushed nuts

METHOD: 

1. Pulse together all ingredients (except toppings) in a food processor until it comes together to form a ball.
2. Scoop the dough into 1 tablespoon-sized truffles, roll into balls, and then coat in any topping(s) you like.
3. Store the truffles in an airtight container up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

Mango dessert with pomegranate

This is probably the easiest dessert I have ever made, the only thing easier than this would be to open a can of mango puree pour into bowls and hand out spoons ! I even bought a few extra cans to have in store for when I am short on time and have to produce something sweet. Alphonso mangoes are considered to be the best in terms of flavour and sweetness. They have a relatively short growing season and are known to be one of the most expensive varieties of mangoes. Fortunately, they can be found at Indian supermarkets and this year, even large grocery chains in Ontario carried them. The growing season is March to May which means they are not available now, but you can find Alphonso mango puree in cans at Indian grocery stores. 

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 4 - 6

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups mango puree
• 11/2  cup low fat cottage cheese
• 1 Tbsp rose water (found in Indian grocery stores) 
• 3 Tbsp pomegranate 
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder  

METHOD

1. Put all ingredients except pomegranate and cardamom powder in a bowl
2. Using an immersion blender, mix until it is a smooth puree 
3. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours
4. It will not be cuttable in texture, more like a creamy soup
5. Before serving garnish with pomegranate and cardamom powder